Traffic cones scheme to help protect kids In Ossett and Horbury

Police have given No Waiting Cones to schools across Ossett to help deter dangerous parking and improve pupil safety. Pictured at flushdyke School L-R with PCSO Richard Firth are Eve Merryweather,Charlie Spurr,Adam Sellars and Riley Hudson

Published:16:00Wednesday 17 October 2012

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TRAFFIC cones have been distributed across schools in Ossett to help deter illegal parking which puts children’s lives in danger.

And they could be introduced in Horbury if they prove to be successful.

Dangerous parking on double yellow lines and zig-zag markings has been an issue outside schools in both towns.

And parents and headteachers are hoping the cones, issued to schools by the police, will help to drive home the message that illegal parking is dangerous.

Tracy Palk, headteacher at Flushdyke J&I School, said: “We hope the cones will make a positive difference. Some parents have been parking outside the school on yellow lines and in our staff parking area and it does reduce visibility.”

Dangerous parking outside Gawthorpe Academy, on High Street, has been a police priority in the village for several years.

And last summer people living on Horbury’s Manorﬁelds Estate asked the Express to help push for a solution, claiming it was only a matter of time before a child was run down due to parking habits at Clifton Infants.

Headteachers in both towns have worked hard to get the message across to parents.

And the Education Ossett Community Trust (EOCT) said this week that they had also bought road safety banners to be displayed outside trust schools.

EOCT co-ordinator Yvonne Smith said: “This initiative continues our work with the police and local residents to encourage safe and appropriate parking around our schools.”

Insp Jo Mercer, of the northwest neighbourhood police team, said: “We will assess the impact of the cones in the Ossett area in the near future and if the results are positive will look to extend it.”